2012 Goals Update

by Nick on April 2, 2012

Happy April folks! Anyone pull off any April Fools’ Day pranks yesterday? Any victims? I’m a bit of a prankster myself, but because April Fools’ Day fell on a Sunday this year, I slacked off a bit this year… I was on Daddy Duty for most of the day, so it was an overall pretty cool day for sure.

OK – because I don’t want to fall miserably like I did last year let’s check in on my progress for this year. Remember, last year I was a complete failure, which I attribute to not checking in on my goals enough (and also for admittedly setting pretty lofty goals…).

And just like last month, remember it’s still not too late to set goals. Just decide where you’re going to be at the end of the year (notice I didn’t say where you “want” to be. You’re deciding where you’re going to be.). Then break it down into small chunks and check in with me every month and you’ll be sitting pretty as Ryan Seacrest attempts to count down from 10 in late December…

If you’re new here, welcome. This year, I set family, work and “me” goals that, for the most part, lend themselves to monthly checkups. Let’s dig in!

Family Goals:

Take one family vacation of at least one week and shut off my phone and Internet. Not done yet. We’re now planning a long weekend and a week away. More on this later.

Take at least one vacation with just my wife and me, leaving the kids with family. Same as last month. Wifey McGee is coming up with proposals. We have a time frame but the rest of the details are TBD.

Be home at least one hour per day with the phone and TV off and computer closed. So far so gooddecent crappy. I’m making a conscious effort so I’ll take it, but work kicked my ass.

BONUS Goal: Read at least 12 books about being a better father and/or husband. Still only two in and not even done with those. Need to step up.

Grade: Crappy month in this regard. I need to step up to the plate this month. I’m hoping to take a week off of work in the middle of the month, which should help.

Work Goals:

Lead at least two projects. So far so good. Finished on up that went well. Now working on a second that got complicated, but still going well. So far so good.

Work less but focus on performing higher-level functions. I’ve still done little to no entry-level work, but worked a ton in March. Worked a few extra nights and on the weekends a bit. Not good.

Become cash flow positive even without considering the value of my work. Still. Not. Even. Close. Still have some things percolating. We’ll see…

Read at least 12 books about work. Still haven’t even finished one. Ouch. I’m through the first quarter of the year already!

Grade: C+. Substance was good, but hours and money was pretty ugly.

“Me” goals:

Lead Step Away from the Mall to a top 250,000 website. When I joined the Yakezie Challenge in early January, this goal changed to top 200,000 by July 8. As I’m typing this late Sunday night it’s now 139,025! Wahoo!!!! Done!!!!Now the goal is under 100,000 by July 8… we’ll see… I have no idea how the heck it’s been dropping so much, but I’m really excited about it. Again, I really could use your help with this one. If you enjoy this blog, like and share it on Facebook (buttons on the right >>>) or e-mail it to a friend and encourage them to spread the word! And join the conversation, too!

Stats: Post at least 260 posts here. 62 through February plus 24 in March for a total of… 86. Very cool! 174 to go. But I’ll keep going – even if I hit the goal in August…

Track and increase my net worth by 50%. I’m being a little secretive about this, using Evan’s zero-based net worth tracking system instead of revealing the actual numbers. I’m also just focusing on my side of the ledger. But I will say that my net worth is positive and higher than my salary, which means that a 50% increase in net worth is a lofty goal. I’m hoping for a combination of increased income, standard-of-living management and investment returns to get me there. January (up 9.8%) and February (up another 7.68%) were HUGE. As expected, March was a bit slow but I still rocked it for another 5.24% for a grand total year to date of 24.32%. Pretty nuts, for sure. Most of the increase is riding the stock market. Also contributing is regular auto-investing, principal paid by tenants on my investment property and a few extra bucks coming in (and not going out!). I expect April to be slower (I only get one paycheck in April… long story) but I’m expecting a few extra bucks to come in from investments, so who knows. And if the market takes a breather that could be a huge negative… We’ll see. The monster months are really nice to see for sure!

Exercise no less than 130 times and no more than 182 times. Seven. Not bad. I was at zero through February but finally got my butt back into CrossFit. Moving in the right direction!

BONUS Goal: Create at least two streams of significant income online, at least one of which involves designing and selling a product online.Decent job on this one. A few more small ads here for a few more bucks. Don’t worry, I’ve never been censored here, even in sponsored posts, which I’ll make sure I’ll mark as guest posts. If it’s a buddy’s guest post I’ll be sure to make it clear that it’s not sponsored too!) No product yet though.

Grade: A-. Really great “me” month. Still room to grow though.

Overall March Grade: B

Not bad. Great me month but crapped out on the stuff that really matters… need to refocus.

Once again, thanks for stopping by. I hope you stick around! You really motivate me to write more and be even more open about my life and my thoughts, especially when you leave me a comment on a post or I see someone sharing a post on Facebook or Twitter. I love interacting with you, so don’t forget to check in every once in a while. I really appreciate you taking a minute or two to stop by and read what’s on my mind for the day. So thank you, again.

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